Loose Leaf Diary Refills - How to Make Them Yourself and Save Money

Introduction: Loose Leaf Diary Refills - How to Make Them Yourself and Save Money

Hello Instructablers,

Like many people, I need to plan my days in order to get anything worthwhile accomplished. I like to use a ring-binder type, loose leaf diary. I've been using this style for years, and find the flexibility of the system suits me perfectly.

One major disadvantage of the loose leaf system is that refills are incredibly expensive for what they are. Today I went to buy some and the only ones I could find locally were a set with a week to a page for $12, and a set with a day to a page for $45. I know the manufacturers need to make a profit, but that's ridiculous. So, being an absolute tight-arse I decided to find a cheaper alternative.

The makers of these diaries don't make it easy to copy their hole-pattern. Why would they, when they can sell seven tiny holes for $45? I decided to get some cheap paper and simply drill the holes. It took some setting up, but it worked, and I'll not be buying super-expensive holes again.

I found that by tightly clamping the paper to stop it tearing, it was possible to simply drill the correct holes. Read on to find out exactly what I did.

Step 1: What You'll Need

Here's what you will need to make your refills:

Paper. Just get cheap writing pads to suit the size of your diary. Mine is pretty close to A5. I got 3 pads for $2.50 from horrible K-Mart. They were wrapped in plastic and I left them wrapped until the end.

Pen or pencil for marking out.

Timber to make a template/clamp. I used 50mm x 25mm that I happened to have. You'll need two pieces about 200mm longer than your paper is tall.

4 x 50mm Screws. Length depends on the thickness of the pad of paper. Long enough to hold the two pieces of timber together with the paper in between them.

Drill or screw driver.

Drill for drilling holes in timber and paper. One drill bit suitable for pre drilling holes for the screws and another the desired size of the holes in the paper.

Step 2: Make Your Template

Take one of your pieces of timber and place an original page of your diary on it, lining up the perforated edge with an edge of the timber.

Mark the hole centres and the edges of the paper on the timber.

Using a drill bit the same size as the holes in the paper, drill through the timber on all hole positions.

Drill two smaller holes at each end for the screws that will hold the clamp together. They should be as close as possible to edges of the pad without touching it.

Step 3: Clamp the Pages Ready for Drilling

Place the pad of paper between the two pieces of timber with the holes lined up in the position you want them. I left a bit more paper outside the holes than the original to give a bit more strength.

Using the screws, clamp the paper between the timber as pictured. It's important that this is tight to prevent the paper from twisting and tearing when drilled.

Step 4: Drill the Holes and Remove Clamp

Simply drill the holes using the template, then remove the clap.

Step 5: Install the Pages and Admire Your Work

If all went well you should have enough pages to keep your life organized for at least another year, and the satisfaction of saving yourself some coin too.

May I suggest using a brad-point wood drill for making the holes in the pads? the sharper design of the drill would reduce minute tearing around the holes, potentially adding strength to the pages. I would be otherwise concerned that the pages might tear from the binder under the strain of regular page turning.

I did an Instructable on making your own planner pages some time ago, and offered a guide for a standard, hand-held hole punch. See it in the later steps at this address: https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Your-Own-Planner-Pages/?utm_source=base&utm_medium=related-instructables&utm_campaign=related_test